


Harry Potter and the Adventure of the Girly Things

by thequidditchpitch_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Comedy, Post-War, Romance, The Quidditch Pitch: Eternity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-08-13
Updated: 2008-08-13
Packaged: 2018-10-26 12:43:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10786974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thequidditchpitch_archivist/pseuds/thequidditchpitch_archivist
Summary: Harry's trip to buy "girly things" for Ginny tests his courage.





	Harry Potter and the Adventure of the Girly Things

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Annie, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Quidditch Pitch](http://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Quidditch_Pitch), which went offline in 2015 when the hosting expired, at a time I was not able to renew it. I contacted Open Doors, hoping to preserve the archive using an old backup, and began importing these works as an Open Doors-approved project in April 2017. Open Doors e-mailed all authors about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Quidditch Pitch collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/thequidditchpitch/profile).

           “Wake up, Harry!”

 

            Harry groaned and tried to push away the Bludger that was poking him painfully in the shoulder.  

 

            “Wake up!”

 

            He opened his eyes and blinked in the glare from the bedside lamp.  Ginny was kneeling on the bed beside him, shaking him by the shoulders.

 

            “Whassa matter?” he mumbled, “What time is it?”

 

            “Just past two.  I need you to go to the all-night market for me.”

 

            Harry rolled over and sat up, looking at his girlfriend with concern.  

 

            “Are you sick?  Do you need medicine?” he asked.

 

            “No, I need tampons.  Get the super-plus kind.”

 

            Harry blushed.  He had faced many dangers in his twenty years, but nothing was as scary as the look Ginny was giving him.  Even Voldemort would have whimpered.

 

            “Uh -- Ginny, I can’t get _girly things_ ,” he protested.

 

            “And why not?” she demanded, tossing him a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

 

            “Well, because I just can’t, that’s all.  Couldn’t it wait until morning, when you can go yourself?  You could use paper towels,” his voice trailed off as he realized he’d said an incredibly stupid thing.

 

            “ _Paper towels?_ That is so disgusting, Harry!  Hurry up and get dressed!”

 

            He took a heavy pullover from the closet.

 

            “Why are you wearing that?  It’s the middle of summer,” Ginny exclaimed.

 

            “Because it has a hood,” Harry explained, “I don’t want everyone staring at me.”

 

            The all-night market was two blocks from their flat, and Harry was sweating by the time he arrived.  The few customers inside the well-lit store stared at him curiously, and he quickly averted his face.  

 

.            “Watch it,” a man murmured to the clerk. “Looks like he’s getting ready to rob the place.  Why else would he be wearing a hood in this weather?”

 

            “Maybe you should call the cops,” someone else suggested.

 

            Harry sensed their eyes following him as he moved up and down the aisles, seeking what he was after.  A little boy came up to him, holding a gooey sandwich in his hand.  Wordlessly he held out the sandwich to Harry, who smiled and said, “No thanks.  You‘re out kind of late, aren‘t you?”  The child’s mother glared at Harry and shrieked, “Pervert!” as she yanked her son away.  Harry groaned inwardly as heads turned in his direction.

 

            “Help you with something?” the clerk called nervously, his fingers closing around his mobile phone.

 

            “No thanks,” Harry muttered.  Finally he located the display of feminine hygiene products:  super-plus, super, regular, light.  Why were there so many kinds?  His head swam as he surveyed the loaded shelves.  He tried to remember the color of the box that Ginny kept in the bathroom cabinet, but his mind was a blank.  What had she said to get?      

 

            “Excuse me, please!”

 

            Harry jumped as a heavyset woman elbowed him aside.  She reached out and took a box of super-plus tampons from the shelf.  Turning to leave, she stumbled against Harry and stepped on his foot.  He gasped, feeling a searing throb of pain in his toes.

 

            “Why don’t you move out of the way?” she snapped, glaring at him in exactly the same way Ginny had.

 

            “I’m sorry!” Harry stammered, fighting an urge to run screaming from the market.

 

            He watched the woman make her way to the cash register.  Were super-plus tampons only for large women?  In that case, Ginny would need the light ones, since she was so petite.  Glad that he had settled the question, he limped toward the cash register, getting in line behind a couple of teenage girls.  They spotted the box he was holding and giggled, making Harry blush.  The child who had offered Harry his sandwich was at the front of the line, holding onto his mother’s hand.  His mother turned away from the cash register and glared at Harry again before leaving.  The teenage girls were taken care of and then it was Harry’s turn.  As he stepped up to the register, he slipped on something and fell hard on his right knee.  

 

            “Shit!  Fuck!” he muttered as his hand came into contact with something extremely sticky.  It was a blob of peanut butter and jelly, apparently from the little boy’s sandwich.  

 

            “All right there?” the clerk asked, smirking.

 

            “I’m fine,” Harry snapped, wincing with pain as his knee throbbed, in addition to the bruised feeling in his left foot.  He slammed the box of tampons down on the counter, adding a bottled water as he was now sweating profusely.  The clerk rang up the purchases, took Harry’s money, and handed him his change.

 

            “Do you want a sack?” he asked.

 

            “Of course I want a sack,” Harry snapped.  Did the idiot think he was going to carry a box of those things out in the open? 

 

            The clerk smirked again as he slid Harry’s purchases into a clear plastic sack. 

 

            Harry tucked the sack under his arm, hoping it would be less noticeable.  As he limped toward the exit, pausing to gulp some water, he noticed a young man about his age wearing dark glasses and a cap pulled low over his forehead.

 

            “Need some help?” the clerk called.

 

            “Uh, no,” the man stammered, blushing.  It was the blush that gave Harry a clue.  He leaned close to his fellow sufferer.  

 

            “Aisle five,” he whispered, holding up his sack.

 

            “Thanks, mate,” the other man replied gratefully, giving Harry a thumbs-up.

 

            Harry was surprised to find the bedroom dark and Ginny asleep when he returned.  He tripped and landed on his sore knee, cursing loudly.  Ginny stirred and switched on the lamp.

 

            “Harry?” she asked sleepily.

 

            “I got your girly things,” he snapped, tossing the sack on the bed, “I also got my foot smashed, my knee's killing me, and I got called a pervert.  How come you were asleep?  I thought you were in a hurry for me to get back.”

 

            “Oh, Harry, I’m sorry,” Ginny said apologetically, “After you left, I found some tampons in my old Quidditch bag.  I didn’t need you to go out after all.”

 

            She picked up the sack, and looked at him with an exasperated expression.

 

            “Harry, I told you to get super-plus tampons!” she wailed, “These are lights, they’re only for the last couple of days.”

 

            “I’m sorry,” Harry moaned, running a hand through his sweat-soaked hair. “I thought since you were so slim, that’s what you’d need.  There was a really huge woman buying the super-plus kind and I thought -- uh, I wasn’t sure --!”

 

            Ginny burst into laughter and put her arms around him.

 

            “Oh, Harry,” she said. “Super-plus means they absorb a lot more.  It doesn’t have anything to do with how a woman’s built!  Didn’t you know that?”

 

            “No, and don’t tell me any more," he begged,  "I need a shower.  I haven't sweated this much since the last time I played Quidditch!"

 

            Harry dreamed of being chased through the market while Ginny and the heavyset woman pelted him with boxes of super-plus tampons and gooey sticky sandwiches.  


End file.
